The semester kicked up last month and it’s certainly been a rush since getting back. I’m taking four courses this semester, two less than in the fall, and one of those classes is a graduate course in book history for the honors program I’m part of. Potsdam undergraduates who are invited to enroll in a departmental honors program are allowed to take two graduate courses in their junior and senior year. It’s quite a bit of work and most of it is self-initiated research. Graduate courses usually meet once a week and are in smaller classrooms with plenty of forum type discussion. In just the second week of the class, I had four books out of the library for my research topic along with a novel to read by the following week. Believe it or not, I’m enjoying it! Once you get moving up to the higher division courses the work becomes more specialized.

I still have some down time though. I’ve been rock climbing to ease stress, spinning vinyl at the radio station, and today I was able to go out to Birchbark bookstore on the outskirts of town. What an awesome place! It’s roughly five minutes of driving through the scenic North Country and the whole store is in a converted barn. There are over 55,000 books throughout the store with something for bookworms and casual readers alike. I found the poetry and philosophy section to be my favorite, even scoped out a few first edition books to buy when I head back up there again. There was also a large young adult and fantasy book section to browse in and an entire floor devoted to old magazines. If you find yourself up here for a visit, Birchbark is a must-see! There is also a satellite storefront located above ACE Hardware in town.